Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies.Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

Results tagged ‘ Bruce Newman ’

Roy Halladay really is Superman.That is evident after last night’s gutsy, one-legged performance.With what has been diagnosed as a mild to moderate groin strain, Halladay pitched 6 innings against the Giants, holding them to only 2 runs and leading the Phillies to victory.Because of Halladay’s heroics, the Fightin’ Phils live to fight another day.

The Phillies say that Halladay is day-to-day and it is unclear how to injury might affect him going forward.However, that should not be a concern right now because the Phillies have to get to the World Series first before they worry about that.Some have asked if Halladay could pitch out of the bullpen in a possible Game 7, but if it goes that far, Cole Hamels should have it under control.

Halladay’s teammates were impressed with his courage and determination; many of them, like Placido Polanco, had no idea anything was wrong until after the game.Polanco was asked about it in a post-game interview and said, “He didn’t tell anybody. So I didn’t know.”Shane Victorino was aware and said after the game, “After a couple innings I was like, ‘God, this guy is pitching on one leg. Really?’ His velocity wasn’t 92, 93 (mph). It was 89, 90. That shows me what he’s about.”

Hopefully, this act of heroism is what will inspire the team and propel them to their 3rd consecutive World Series.Game 6 tomorrow!

Bigot Offends Entire City

After Game 3 on Tuesday Bruce Newman, whom I will loosely call a “journalist” for the Mercury News in San Jose, posted an article bashing Philadelphia fans.He called it “The City of Brotherly Loathe,” claiming that San Francisco fans are classy and Philly fans are basically trash.He based this on examples like the kid who got tasered, the 40-year old Santa Claus snowball incident and a few interviews in which comments were taken out of context and Phillies fervor was mischaracterized as “shocking behavior.”He made “booing” seem like a cardinal sin.

Like a grade school bully, Newman even went as far as to poke fun at Philly’s “artery-clogging cheesesteaks,” basically calling Philly fans fat.By the way, they serve cheesesteaks in San Fran too.I took this writer to school and sent him a scathing reply to this disgusting, prejudiced piece of trash he wrote.I will share that with you in a moment.

By the way, I have not gotten any response, although I know 3 other people who did hear back and Newman’s comments to them were just as rude as the article.One comment was a sarcastic, “Have a nice winter.”To another letter by a writer at Crossing Broad, he replied by thanking the person for generating more traffic to his web site and said, “If I thought you had something significant to say, I would have sent a more meaningful response.”

Please also note that I do not wish to have my previously undisclosed comments in the letter below to color anyone’s view of San Francisco.These were simply real and telling examples for this idiot to illustrate that every city has good and bad fans, good and bad people.San Fran is a nice town overall, but like all places around the earth, they have their issues as well.Here is the letter I sent him:

“Mr. Newman,

You should be ashamed of yourself for the article bashing Philadelphia fans. It was journalistically irresponsible, morally reprehensible and just plain rude. To see a supposed professional writer characterize an entire city by the actions of a few bad people is truly disgusting.

There are good fans and bad fans in every sports town. I do not condone the actions of those who have behaved horribly, but I also do not claim that as a basis for slandering an entire city. I have been to dozens of stadiums all over America and can tell you, every city has their bad apples. Let us examine your own beloved San Francisco as an example.

In 2008, a teenage fan killed another fan outside the park after an argument. Should I then conclude that all Giants fans are murderers? Let’s take a look at my own personal experiences in San Francisco just last year. I was walking outside the ball park taking photos of the stadium and surrounding areas while wearing a Phillies jersey. 3 adult male Giants fans in their own team apparel approached me, a solo, middle-aged woman minding her business, and began screaming at me and shouting obscenities about the Phillies. I ignored them and started to walk away. They not only followed me, they caught up, surrounded me, got right in my face and continued the intimidation up close. Many other Giants fans walked past and did nothing to help. After asking nicely for them to move on, I actually had to shove my way through the group and quickly shuffled into a nearby McDonalds where I waited for them to leave the area.

I certainly did not expect to be accosted in broad daylight with all those other people milling about. Do I now think that all, or even the majority of, Giants fans are horrible? No, that would be illogical. These were 3 jerks trying to frighten a fan of the opposing team. Did I then post this information on either of the 2 Phillies blogs I write for? No. Because it would have been irresponsible for me to portray a city badly based on a few bad people.

I met and spoke to many Giants fans over the course of four games; some were very nice and fun to chat with. Others were jerks, like the 3 idiots I ran into that day, and did nothing but shout obscenities. Many knew very little about baseball and about their team, but they were nice people. However, the scoreboard messages that were allowed to run, in front of the entire stadium crowd during the Phillies series were awful; one of them said, “Utley must die.” Whichever employee accepted money for that should be embarrassed.

You said in your article, “Giants play in a park named after a company that quietly drops your phone calls; the Phillies play in a park sponsored by a bank that forecloses on people’s homes.” Seriously? This sounds like a 3-year old complaining that he did not get the flavor ice cream he wanted. How about PNC Park, Chase Field, Citi Field, Comerica Park, etc… By the way, did you know that AT&T regularly hands out personal customer information due to a lack of web security, paving the way to identity theft and ruining entire lives everywhere? Maybe Citizens Bank had to foreclose on a house due to AT&T identity theft? Did you also hear about the “secret room” in AT&T’s San Francisco office where they spy on people? No? Look it up.

How about, “the intensity level of hate here is probably 30 percent of what it is in Philly.” Wow…that is some truly stunning scientific evidence there. I am pretty sure the thousands of homeless San Francisco “residents” that line the sidewalks outside the stadium and all over the city may tilt the “hate” meter a bit. They have a lot to be angry about. But hey, you are a real journalist; why deal in facts? Slander works just fine, right? Oh sorry, do I sound angry? Quick, add another percentage of anger to Philly!

And did you see the photos of the two young 6-7 year old Giants fans wearing Panda head gear and holding signs that said “***** The Phillies?” No? I can send you a copy if you like. But I suppose you probably thought the “Fix Your Teeth” sign was way more biting than seeing small children being taught to use the “F” word. Classy move, Giants fans.

My point here is simple. Responsible, professional journalists, and people in general with any common sense whatsoever, do not characterize an entire city based on the actions a small sampling of people. There are bad people and bad fans in every city, even San Francisco. Your article was offensive, inaccurate and childish. You owe the entire city of Philadelphia an apology. If you don’t think so, then you are just as bad as the idiot who threw up all over that little girl. Shameful.”

This guy makes a joke out the profession of journalism.How some people get these jobs is really a mystery.He has no integrity, no accountability and apparently, no remorse.Mr. Newman tossed journalistic ethics out the window; he is an embarrassment to real news people everywhere.

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